Germans still like to travel
GfK TravelScope examines the situation on the tourism market
Nuremberg, September 10, 2008 – In spite of high energy prices and fears of a recession, Germans are still spending a great deal on vacations. The figures apply to the first tourism half-year of 2008. In particular, the trend is for older people and singles to travel more frequently, whilst families are generally cutting back. These are the findings of the GfK TravelScope survey on the travel be-havior of Germans.In total, 38% of German households went on holiday in the first tourism half-year of 2008, i.e. the period from November 2007 to April 2008. This translates as 13.4 million households and growth of 0.7% on the same period in the prior year. A total of 43.9 million vacations were taken, 700,000 more than in the same period last year, which is an increase of 1.5%. The amount spent on vacations in the first tourism half-year of 2008 also rose by 0.9% to EUR 22.1 million. At 54%, more than half of this figure was attributable to advance bookings.
In particular, single people and older people travel a great deal. The singles’ vacation market share climbed by 7.8% and the traditionally high market share of 50 to 64-year-olds of 22% rose by 4.7% in the period under review. The market share of holidays for the over-64s grew by 5% to total 20%. However, families are now going away less than before, with figures down by 3.6% and as much as 8.5% for families with two children.
All in all, in the period under review, more Germans went on vacation, but generally took fewer vacations per year. The number of vacations per year fell by 0.7% on the prior year. This can be attributed to inflation, which is making vacations more expensive. The average spend per vacation went up from EUR 499 to EUR 507 in the period under review, which corresponds to an increase of 1.7% on the same period in the prior year.
Holidaying abroad: mini-breaks becoming increasingly popular
Contrary to last year’s developments, the major growth driver on the travel market is not Germany, but travel to foreign countries. There were a total of 19.8 million journeys abroad, 500,000 more than in the same period in the prior year. The traditional Swiss, French and Austrian ski regions benefited the most, with France and Austria recording an increase in German winter tourists of 7% and Switzerland 6.3%.
Mediterranean beach vacation destinations in Turkey and Egypt experienced growth of around 10%, much to the detriment of Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Tunisia.
As for holidays abroad, there is a particular trend towards mini-breaks of between one and four days, with an increase of 11% on the same period in the prior year.
Longer vacations in Germany
Vacations in Germany tell a different story, with longer breaks, in particular, on the increase for the first time. Breaks of longer than five days were up on the prior year by 0.8% to 8.6 million. In total, 24.1 million Germans vacationed in their home country during the period under review, which is 200,000 more than in the prior year. The best-performing regions were the states bordering the North Sea and Baltic Sea, with Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony all recording double-digit growth in visitors.
When it came to spending on local activities, vacationers appeared less generous. In winter 2007/2008, extra activities were booked on 8.9 million vacations, which is a drop of 1.3%. The biggest losses were suffered by car rental companies, whose market share fell back by 12.7% to just 13%. The number of additional excursions also fell, with the market share decreasing by 3.5% on the prior year to total 55%. However, Germans did not hold back on spa breaks, sport and fitness, which accounted for around 38% of additional vacation bookings, corresponding to an increase of 5.9%.
Outlook
In the context of the GfK TravelScope survey, participants are regularly asked about their future travel plans. Analysis of the findings produced a comparably positive outlook for the coming season, with Germans planning as many vacations as in previous years. However, this applies variously to different population groups.
In a long-term comparison to the 2006 peak value, the travel planned by trainees, students and those in the early stages of their careers was disproportionately high, with the index value increasing by one point. Also, working singles (up 2 index points), and families without children (up 2 points) are planning to travel relatively often in the coming season. The index value for low-income families has risen by one point on the prior year. On the other hand, fewer holidays are being planned and booked by families with average income – a highly attractive target group for the tourism industry. GfK TravelScope recorded a decline of six points in the long-term index value for this target group, with a drop of one index point for pensioners. However, the actual travel behavior remains to be seen. People in this group generally tend to go on vacation more spontaneously and are more flexible and adaptable to current market conditions. On the other hand, vacationers on a low income prefer to rely on definite plans and tend to book earlier in advance.
The survey
GfK TravelScope is based on a continuous survey of German vacation travel bookings, information-seeking habits and destinations. In total, 20,000 households are surveyed on their travel habits in around 160,000 intervews conducted every year in four survey waves.
The GfK Group
The GfK Group is the No. 4 market research organization worldwide. Its activities cover the three business sectors of Custom Research, Retail and Technology and Media. The Group has 115 companies covering over 100 countries. Of a total of 9,457 employees (as of June 30, 2008), 81.6% are based outside Germany. For further information, visit our website: www.gfk.com.
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